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18-Jul-08 11:15 [Pensions]
'Four in ten firms' aim to close final-salary schemes Up to 40 per cent of final salary schemes in the UK are expected to close to existing members over the next decade, it has emerged.
According to the pension plan design survey by Watson Wyatt this year which questioned 134 private sector firms, six per cent of final salary schemes - also known as defined benefit plans - had already closed.
The report also discovered that many businesses had either increased the amount existing members had to pay or had shrunk the rate at which they accumulate benefits.
Watson Wyatt senior consultant Kathryn Armistead said: "A small but growing number of companies are ceasing final salary accrual for existing members and this trend is expected to accelerate."
Recently the Banking Times commented on the Office of National Statistics report that showed the number of final salary pension schemes had fallen by 5,000 in 2007 to 54,114 with over 53,000 of them being offered in the private sector.
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